Targeted for:  This course is for web developers who want to enhance the usability of their sites/applications, and individuals wishing to gain insight into Ajax technologies.

Prerequisite:  Ajax is built on top of an number of existing web technologies. Familiarity with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is necessary, as is experience with a server-side language such as PHP, JSP or a .NET language.  Any exposure to the Document Object Model, XML, and an understanding of object oriented programming is a plus.

Handouts:  Copies of the course outline slides will be provided along with relevant handouts when appropriate.

Class Description:  By the use of lectures, demonstrations and possibly lab exercises (for those individuals that bring laptops to class), this mini course will introduce you to the latest and hottest technologies for serving dynamic web pages, AJAX: Asynchronous_JavaScript+CSS+DOM+XMLHttpRequest.

Annoyed waiting for refresh.  Sick of creating web sites that reload every time the user selects an option or moves the mouse?  Tired that your server has to wait around until the user requests a repaint of the entire screen. It sounds like it’s time to you learned about

Ajax: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, for web applications.

Asynchronous programming turns your websites into smooth, slick, responsive applications that make your users feel like they’re back on the information superhighway, not stuck on a dial-up backroad. Combining tried-and-true Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and JavaScript technologies, Ajax provides web developers with the ability to create more sophisticated and responsive user interfaces and break free from the “click-and-wait” standard that has dominated the web since its introduction. Ajax is an approach, a way of thinking about the architecture of web applications using certain technologies, that gives a better experience, and provides an implementation that does a much better job at distributing the application between the client and the server.

Ajax is perhaps one of the most misunderstood terms in web technology today.  Ajax solutions are simply web-based applications that retrieve data from the server without unloading the page that the user is currently viewing.  Whether that is done synchronously or asynchronous, with XML or with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) or simply with plain text, it’s all still Ajax.  This course will discuss the use of hidden frames, iframes, and XMLHttp, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each.  Once users have experienced an Ajax interface, they hate to go back.

PRELIMINARY AGENDA:

Session 1:

1. What Really Is Ajax?

2. Ajax Basics and how it works.

Session 2:

3. Ajax Patterns- Programming techniques used by Ajax applications.

4. XML, XPath, and XSLT- The data formats that are used to transfer this data.

Also discussed are different browser workarounds.

Session 3:

5. Optional Syndication with RSS/Atom.

6. Web Services.

Session 4:

7. Optional JSON

8. Web Site Widgets.

Session 5:

9. Learn from a Big Design Project (possibly AjaxMail)

Session 6:

10. Ajax Frameworks.

11. Wrapup.

What you will learn:

Different methods for achieving Ajax communication and when to use each. A variety of Ajax design patterns to use in specific data retrieval circumstances. Techniques for using Ajax with RSS and Atom to produce a web-based news aggregator. How to use JavaScript Object Notation as an alternate data transmission format for Ajax communications. How to create Ajax widgets, such as a weather display and news ticker, that can be included in your web site.

Handouts: Copies of the course outline slides will be provided along with relevant handouts when appropriate.

For more info:  Email to i3ejeffg_AT_qualware.com replacing _AT_ with “@”, or call Jeff at 781-229-1530 ext 2.

Lecturer’s biography:

An honor graduate of Tufts University, Jeffrey M. Goldberg has served the engineering and academic community in various roles from principle design engineer / project leader to senior consultant and educator at companies such as Hewlett Packard, Siemens, Picturetel, 3Com, IBM, NMS, and EMC. Mr. Goldberg is a long-time innovative user of UNIX and networked services. He currently provides IT solution consulting and delivers public seminars and on-site professional training classes, flexibly scheduled to avoid project disruption, in cutting-edge technologies and programming languages. Specialties include Perl and Shell Scripting, Linux/Solaris/UNIX System Administration and TCP/IP Networking, Web Technologies such as Visual Basic, Delphi, Java Script, PHP Apache, C/C++, Java and SQL Database Access, Computer and Network Security.  For more information, please visit http://www.qualware.com/training or contact Jeff Goldberg at 781-229-1530 ext 2.

copywrite 2006 Qualware Instructional Services and Jeff Goldberg.

Decision (Run/Cancel) Date for this Course is Monday, Nov. 6, 2006

Course Fee Schedule:

On-line Registration and Payment

This course has been cancelled, if you have any questions please call 781-245-5405.

Copyright © 2008 IEEE Boston Section. All rights reserved.
Maintained by R M Stelting

Updated Monday March 24, 2008